Promise Renewed (2 page)

“Must have hit me with a sledge hammer.” His words were slurred, as if his tongue didn’t remember how to function.

“I’m sure it felt like it.”

But Darin didn’t hear. He drifted between sleep and unconsciousness, oblivious to his surroundings, unmindful of the cost of tonight’s venture.

The next time he opened his eyes, he did so without his head pounding quite so hard. Now it felt like a bad Excedrin headache. One that would go away with the prescribed number of little white pills.

“Are you all right?”

“TJ? What the hell are you doing here?” Why had they called his sister? Was he hurt more seriously than he thought?

“Douglas is here, too. He went for coffee.”

“Damn! Did they tell you I was going to die or something?” He wasn’t ready to go just yet. Hell, he was only thirty-two. He still had a lot of living to do. He struggled to a sitting position. “Tell me you didn’t call Mom? Or Donovan and Dugan? Tell me they’re not coming up from the ranch.”

His sister gave him a sheepish grin. “You know I did.” At the alarm on his face, she laughed. “Don’t worry. I convinced them you would live. After all, your head was bashed in. Any other part of your body, I might worry.”

He lay back with a groan. Thank God. It wasn’t as if he didn’t love his family. It was that right now all he wanted to know was what had happened. Most of all he wanted to know if Hunter was all right.

Douglas walked in, took one look at Darin, and stalked to the bed. “What the hell were you doing last night? According to your boss you went against every protocol in the book. Do you need a lawyer?”

“Why the hell would I need a lawyer?” If he did, his brother, Douglas was the best. But why the question?

Douglas handed TJ a Styrofoam cup of coffee, took a sip from his own.

“What about me? I could use some of that stuff.” Besides, he was hungry. “What time is it?”

“Almost noon.”

“Shit!” He swung his legs over the side of the bed, only to have the room swim in circles. “What the hell?”

TJ eased him back. “You’re not going anywhere with a concussion.”

She handed him a glass of water. “Here.”

He took a long swallow. Better. The room stopped doing the merry-go-round dance.

“Do either of you know what happened last night?”

“That’s what we would like to know,” Douglas said.

A member of the food service staff marched in. Darin eyed her as she placed a covered dish on the tray and left.

TJ lifted the cover. “Ummm. Smells good.”

“Smells awful. I want real food, not garbage.”

“You haven’t looked at it.”

“I can smell.” He turned to Douglas. “Get me a burger and fries.ˮ

“You can get a burger and fries here,” TJ put in, ever willing to play devil’s advocate. “See? Here’s a menu.”

Darin waved it aside. “I want one with Black Angus beef. Rare. I’m starving.”

“He’s fine,” TJ said with a smile.

“I want food, something to drink besides water, and I want to know what happened last night. Where’s my partner? Is he all right? Did the squad find the drugs?”

“What drugs?” Douglas asked, his demeanor turning from brother to lawyer in a mini-second.

Darin hadn’t been dreaming when he saw the truck being loaded with millions of dollars in drugs. What was the deal?

Darin put a foot on the floor and stood. It took a minute or so for the dizziness to subside. An IV kept him from going too far. “Ring for the nurse. I want out of this thing.”

As if she’d heard, a nurse walked in and frowned. “You shouldn’t be up.”

“He’s stubborn,” TJ said.

“Take out the IV. I’m leaving,” Darin told the nurse.

“Not unless the doc says you can,” she said, reaching to take his arm. “Now let’s get you back in bed.”

“I’m not going back to bed. Take it out or I take it out myself.”

“Aren’t we in a mood?” the nurse said before she whipped around and walked out the door.

“How hard can this be?” Darin took the tape off his arm that held the IV in place.

“No!” TJ cried out. “You could bleed.”

The nurse walked back in with the doctor in tow.

“I hear you’re ready to leave us.”

“I’ll be fine. Just get me out of this thing. I have questions that need answered. And I won’t get them in a damned bed.”

The doctor, who looked to be right out of high school, nodded to the nurse. Frowning, she removed the IV, placed a band-aid over the puncture, and strode out of the room.

“I think you hurt her feelings.” The doctor chuckled.

“Didn’t mean to,” Darin said. “But I have to get back to work.”

The doctor checked Darin’s eyes, the back of his head. “You’ll be fine. Just don’t over-do today.”

“No problem,” Darin said to the doc’s retreating back as he walked over to the closet, found his clothes and started to dress. He looked over at TJ. She just grinned. He turned his back, yanked on his jeans, whipped off the silly green hospital gown and put on his shirt.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Douglas asked.

“Where do you think? Tell me what you meant when you asked, what drugs? Behind door number seven was the ultimate jackpot. Never saw anything like it.” He stopped a minute, his hand midway to closing a button. “Or did they finish loading the truck and take off before the cops got there?”

“Don’t know a damn thing about trucks or drugs. This is what I do know. When the cops got to door number seven they found one dead cop and one with his head bashed in. Nothing else. So if you know something you want your lawyer to know you’d better start talking, because if I’m not mistaken the nurse who just walked out the door is on the phone to your captain.”

“The next person who comes in here might not be as nice as we are,” TJ added.

“Dead cop?” Darin staggered back to the bed and sat down. “Hunter’s dead?”

“Sorry, Darin. He was dead when they got there.” Douglas sat on the edge of the bed beside his brother and draped an arm across his shoulders.

Darin had heard the shots, had expected them to be from Hunter’s gun. Then remembered the groan. Hunter’s groan. Darin rubbed his head, trying to remember every detail. He’d decided to go in, swung around the corner and bam. Nothing. “I never saw Hunter. The warehouse was full of drugs, both marijuana and H. There were several men carting them to a truck. They were gone?” He couldn’t believe it. “Are you sure Hunter is dead?”

“I’m afraid so.”

Darin dropped his head in his hands, fought the urge to cry. He’d been too late. He’d failed his partner. If he’d gotten there a few minutes earlier Hunter would still be alive. He sat up, rubbed his chest. He didn’t know a heart could physically hurt from shock and despair. His did.

He looked at his brother whose eyes were filled with concern. “What time did the cops get there?”

“About fifteen minutes after you called,” Douglas said, his voice grim. “It could have been you with a bullet in his head.”

What had Hunter stumbled onto? Drugs for sure. Darin had seen that much. But who hit him over the head? Who killed Hunter? Whoever it was, Darin vowed to find him.

“I want the story. All of it,” Douglas said, his demeanor all lawyer.

Darin looked his brother in the eye. This must be how he acted with his clients. Hell, Darin wasn’t a client. They were brothers. But Douglas must know something Darin didn’t.

“Hunter is dead and a warehouse full of drugs has disappeared. Someone there killed my partner. I have no idea how or why Hunter was there in the first place.”

“Tell me what happened last night, Darin. From the beginning.”

“It’s cop stuff, Douglas. We’ll handle it.”

“I think you’d better tell me everything, Darin. Now.”

Darin saw the concern on his brother’s face. Not just brotherly concern, but more. “Why?”

“I caught a whiff of something earlier from your captain. It made me think they might look to you for more than an explanation.”

It took an effort for Darin to hold himself in check. He made Douglas repeat what he’d just said.

It was an effort to ask, “They think I had something to do with it?” They couldn’t believe such a thing. Not possible. Yet Douglas wouldn’t insist on the facts unless he thought it necessary.

“Okay. Here goes.” Darin told his brother how he’d gotten Hunter’s call to meet, and everything that happened until someone bashed him in the head. How many more times would he have to tell this same story with the same outcome? He had a feeling every telling would bring on the same hurt.

“That’s it. That’s all you know?”

Darin didn’t like the incredulous lawyer-tone of Douglas’s voice. “Afraid so.”

“You don’t know why Hunter called you instead of the captain? You don’t know how he knew about the warehouse space you claim was full of drugs?”

“It
was
full of drugs. Most were in the truck when I got there. After I heard the shot I could tell they were speeding up the process. My guess is they were moving several million dollars worth. Maybe fifty million or more. And no, I don’t know how he knew about it. And I don’t understand, why didn’t he call it in? He was a damned good cop, so it doesn’t make sense. His being dead doesn’t make sense. Does Haley know? Has his family been notified?” Haley had been Hunter’s girlfriend for the past year. He’d been on the verge of asking her to marry him before he started acting so strange.

“According to the chief of police, who I contacted when you were unconscious, the answer is yes. They’re taking it really hard. They have questions for you.”

Darin groaned. “I’m sure.” What could he tell them? How could he comfort them when there was no way to accept Hunter’s death himself?

“Can you tell me anything else?” Douglas asked.

“It’s all I know,” Darin snapped. “Once I tell the captain what happened, he’ll understand.”

“I hope you’re right. But this could be a lot more serious than you think.”

“More serious than my partner getting killed and millions of dollars worth of drugs heading for the street? What could be
more
serious?”

“You being held responsible.”

Darin stared into his brother’s eyes and saw that this was deadly serious. “Tell me what you know.”

“Captain Wells let me know in no uncertain terms you were going to be looked at for this. They found no drugs in the rental space. Only your partner with a bullet in his head.”

“There were several shots.”

“Hunter’s gun was out of his holster. He got a shot off. But they didn’t find any blood other than his so he must have missed. They’re still looking.”

Darin shook his head only to have the room tilt around him. This couldn’t be happening. TJ stuck a glass of water in his hand, and he took a long swallow. “Do they think I hit myself in the back of the head? How could I do that?” He rubbed at the bump.

Douglas shrugged. “They’ll say you did it for a cover after you shot Hunter.”

For a moment, Darin was too stunned to answer. In a million years, no one would believe such a thing. “Do you think I did this?” he asked stiffly.

“You know better than to ask. But what if your superior does? What then?”

Up until now, TJ had been silent. “I’ll get Max on it. We’ll see if we can’t find who owned the space, how the drugs disappeared, and why your partner was there.” She put her arms around her older brother. “We’re here for you, Darin.”

His sister had been so quiet Darin had forgotten she was there. But she
could
help. Together, TJ and her husband Max owned a consulting firm that fought fraud in the workplace. They had a couple of private investigators they called in on occasion. Plus, they had one of the most brilliant computer gurus on the payroll Darin had ever seen. He trusted his sister and Max implicitly. But he’d never expected to need their help. Still didn’t think so.

Shaky, Darin stood.

“Where do you think you’re going?” TJ asked.

“I’m out of here. I want to get to the station and clear this up before it gets any worse.”

Too late. The door swung open and Captain Wells, a frown on his face, walked in. Behind him was Detective Melanie Harris.

Inwardly, Darin suppressed a groan. The captain didn’t think he had to pass the likeability test with his squad and didn’t try. Melanie Harris had made detective a year ago and was placed immediately in their squad. She fit right in. Friendly, got along with the women as well as the men, and carried her weight in the field. She was an efficient cop who had stepped up to the plate from the beginning.

“Captain, Melanie.”

She came up to him, took his hand. “I’m so sorry, Darin. Who could have done this?”

He couldn’t answer.

“Are you all right?” his captain asked.

“Not really. My partner’s dead and I don’t know why. Millions of dollars in drugs are missing and I don’t know where. Plus, I have a headache.” He paused. “I guess that about sums it up.”

“Do you know where your gun is? You didn’t have it when we arrived.”

Darin blinked. Apparently he’d been hit on the head harder than he thought. He’d forgotten about his Glock, or maybe he’d assumed it had been retrieved at the scene. “I don’t know. I had it in my hands when I walked into the warehouse. Haven’t seen it since. Did you find it?”

“No such luck. Dammit. It’s probably on the street now.”

Darin was at a loss. Who had his gun? Hunter’s killer?

HPD didn’t take a missing cop gun lightly.

“We’ll find it,” Melanie assured him.

“Do you feel up to a trip downtown?”

“That’s where I was headed.”

“Good. We’ll take you.”

“I’ll be glad to drop him off, Captain,” Douglas offered.

“No need. We’re headed that way.”

“Let me have a minute with my brother before you leave.”

“Of course. We’ll be right outside.” The captain and the detective stepped out of the room.

Douglas walked over to his brother. “For some reason, I don’t like your captain.”

“Not many people do.”

“Promise to call if you need me.”

“I will.” He turned to his sister. “I’m going to see where they’re going with this. I may take you up on your offer.”

“Be careful, Darin,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.